


From: Bulla (and one time it wasn't)

by MellikeMellow



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28827909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MellikeMellow/pseuds/MellikeMellow
Summary: For the Broten Shipper's discord's Valentine's Day prompt! Valentine's Day for Bulla/Goten throughout the years.
Relationships: Bra Briefs/Son Goten
Comments: 7
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**< i 3**

The first one was when she was six years old. 

Bulla remembers it with a high blush; a miniature version of herself, ponytail pulled high atop her head, bouncing into the gravity room to interrupt her brother and Goten’s spar, waving the jagged shape excitedly in the air.

Her brother groaned as the machine powered down, but Goten greeted her with a jovial call of her name.

She loved the sound of it, even back then. 

Panting, little Bulla thrust the sticky pink heart into Goten’s fumbling hands, and she immediately turned and ran out of the room just as quickly as she had entered.

It was a messy attempt at a heart, coated in just as much glue as it was glitter and stickers, and in the middle was her name written in sloppy katakana.

Her first Valentine. She doesn’t remember Goten ever saying anything about it, but every now and then her mother and Chi-Chi bring it up with affectionate giggles. 

**< ii 3**

The second one was when she was eleven years old.

She got to pick the packaged set all by herself. Bulla was so proud of the elaborate floral designs on the box. She was pretty sure she’d have the most sophisticated Valentines of anyone in her class. She hoped at the time that Penn, the cutest boy she’d ever seen ( _in school_ ), would like his. 

Bulla used the prettiest marker she found at the store to write her name as perfectly as possible - especially for Penn’s. Her handwriting was immaculate; she made sure of it.

Satisfied with how the lot turned out when she was finished filling them out, Bulla collected them on top of her notebooks and twirled out of the kitchen, bumping into a massive Son Goten who rounded the hall at the same time. Her pile went skittering to the floor around them, and she shrieked in horror - what if they got dirty?!

“Aw, I’m sorry, B!” Goten ducked before she did to gather the lovely folded notes. “I wasn’t even paying attention!”

“Obviously,” she snorted as he handed her the pressed pile. 

He quirked a grin at her. “Valentines for school?”

Bulla blushed hard. “Mmm,” she hummed. “We’re having our party on Friday.”

“They’re pretty!” Goten beamed down at her, and Bulla felt warm down to her toes. “I bet your friends’ll like ‘em.”

She muttered a thanks before dodging around him, jogging up to her bedroom to slide them into her bookbag. Bulla wouldn’t realize until she was passing out her cards that Friday that one had gone missing - the best one she had set aside for Penn.

**< iii 3**

The third one was when she was sixteen years old. 

She didn’t really think it counted. 

Returning from her friend’s Valentine’s party, Bulla shivered as she exited her red coup, the frosty February air biting at her bare legs. Her hip bumped the door closed, and she couldn’t help the smile that split over her pink lips as she recognized Goten’s car parked in the drive next to Trunks’.

He must’ve been over for some time. His windows were coated with a virgin dusting of snow. Unable to resist, the heiress skipped up to his driver’s side and used her finger to draw tiny hearts in the fresh white, then her name on the windshield in front of his seat.

Bulla never saw him, but a couple of hours later when she was doing her homework, a text message popped up on her phone.

_Thanks for the Valentines, B :)_

Her face burned crimson.

**_It's not a Valentine, you goof!_ **

She followed it up with two tongue-out emojis, for appropriate emphasis.'

**< iv 3**

The fourth one was when she was when she was twenty-one years old.

Trunks’ secretary was getting married. The cute as a button thing had been with the company almost as long as he had, starting fresh with her brother shortly after he had assumed the role of CEO. Not as close a friend as Goten or Marron, Tippy was close to Trunks in a completely different way, a confidante and his right-hand man in the business. 

So naturally, the Briefs family put on the entire thing for the starry-eyed cutie pie as thanks for her loyal service. 

And also because Bulma loved any excuse to throw a party.

The reception was something to be envied, lavish and pretty, with pinks and reds and purples filling every corner. The Valentine’s Day theme was amped up to eleven. Hearts and stars were literally everywhere, from the confetti on every table to the balloons floating at the ceiling.

Bulla fingered the lush rose petals of the flowers overflowing the vase on her table. 

Unceremoniously, Goten dropped into the dining chair beside her, startling her out of her lonesome reverie.

“Why are you over here pouting?” He said loudly over the greatest wedding hits blaring not far from them. 

“I’m not pouting,” Bulla leaned away from him. “I’m just hanging out.”

“By yourself?”

She shrugged and glanced over her shoulder to eye the crammed dance floor. It was mostly full of underlings in the company. She wasn’t too familiar with the crowd. When Bulla looked back at Goten, he was still watching her expectantly. 

“I don’t really know anyone,” she winced. 

“Me neither,” he agreed with a grin. “But hey, you know me!”

Bulla smirked and reached over to straighten his crooked bow tie. “Yeah, I guess so.”

He smiled warmly, and her heart skipped a beat. Abruptly, Goten took her champagne flute without asking and downed the drink, then snatched her hand and pulled her up out of the seat she had been keeping warm. 

“Come dance with me, I’m bored!” He answered her when he noticed her mouth flown open in surprise. 

Lining up with him on the dance floor, she ignored the flutters in her belly when one of his hands settled on her ribs as the other wrapped around her hand. “If you’re bored, why don’t you just go home?”

Goten squinted at her. “Why don’t _you_?”

“Mom said I couldn’t leave until 9 o’clock,” Bulla whined as she slid in easy step with him. He wasn’t a good lead, but he was warm and solid. She swallowed and tilted her chin up at him. “I asked you first.”

He laughed and dipped her, earning a girlish shriek from the woman in his hands, before yanking her back up to his chest. “Trunks said the same thing to me,” he chuckled. “He wants to get drinks later. You comin’?”

Bulla shot her lip out. “I didn’t get invited.”

“Aw, man,” he feigned sympathy with a matching frown. “You should come out anyway.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

The pop jam gave way to a slower, more sultry romantic ballad. If she wasn’t mistaken, Bulla could’ve sworn his hand had slid a lower to the round of her hip. She tried to avoid his lingering gaze as they swayed together in their little bubble, but for some reason his eyes felt heavy on her forehead.

“You look nice,” Goten commented quietly, drawing her eyes up toward his kind face. 

_A_ _bort, abort,_ her brain screamed. 

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” she admitted and shoved the alarms aside. “You clean up nice when you want, huh?”

“Well, I was hoping to find a Valentine,” he pouted for effect. 

“Ahh, hence the going out later,” Bulla nodded along with him. “Wait, are Valentines only for one night?” She made a face as though deep in thought, moving her hand that had been fastened to his left shoulder to tap pensively at her chin. “I thought they were for longer than that…”

“I think it depends on who you ask,” Goten wiggled his eyebrows mischievously, earning a giggle from his dancing partner, and now Bulla was positive that he pulled her a step closer.

His eyes sparkled under the dim light of the dance floor. In her peripheral, everything was tinted rose. The music softened in her ears, and suddenly Bulla was hyper aware of the sound of his breath. The scent of him. The pulse in his chest.

 _Abort, abort,_ her brain pleaded weakly once more.

“You got a Valentine this year, B?”

Her head shook slowly.

“Well… d’you think--”

“Oi!” Trunks bombarded the glittering fantasy, shattering it obnoxiously all around her. Bulla jerked out of Goten’s embrace, the pleats of her pantsuit legs swishing audibly in the sharp movement, her heart pounding furiously in her head. “Get a room, you two!”

“Are you drunk?” She barked at her brother’s arm slinging around Goten’s shoulders, causing the pair to stumble a little to the left.

“A little, but hey! The night is young!” Trunks crowed. “Man, I’m feeling good! Are you ready to go?”

Goten glanced between Trunks and Bulla anxiously. Her blue eyes darted away. “Uh, sure. I mean, is it 9 already?”

“Who caaaares?” Trunks bellowed and yanked at Goten’s collar. “C’mon!”

The older Briefs made strides away toward the exit, leaving the other halflings standing awkwardly apart. 

“You better catch up to him,” Bulla eventually waved her bangled arm toward her brother’s retreating form. “He’ll get to the good Valentines before you, if you don’t.”

Goten flinched. “Are you sure you don’t want to come along?”

She fought the sad tug that her smile wanted to give way to, instead pushing up on the tip-toe of her strappy burgundy heels to press a vibrant red, heart-shaped kiss to his cheek. 

“Nah,” she snickered as his surprise. “I don’t need to find a Valentine. You guys just be careful, okay?”

The bridge of his nose dusted rose. “Yeah, sure,” he managed with a weak chuckle. Across the dance floor, Trunks hollered his name loudly, and Goten offered Bulla a salute in farewell before he trotted after his friend.

**< v 3**

The fifth one was when she was twenty-two years old.

“I’ve been your Valentine for a long time, huh?” 

Bulla jumped in her seat at his voice at her ear. She twisted in her chair to find Goten leaning over her shoulder, a wry grin on his face. Something knowing was twinkling in his eye, teasing her, and pride inherited from her father made Bulla glare instead of smile in return.

“How long have you been here?” She tried not to snap, angry at having been caught off guard. 

He shrugged. “Only just got here.” But his eyebrows arched. Waiting.

 _Oh._ Bulla rolled her eyes and turned back to her tablet on the kitchen island. She was in the middle of designing schematics for a new prototype. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She didn’t glance sideways as the bar stool beside her slid out and Goten joined her. “Really?”

Bulla hummed in response and hoped she looked busy.

When he didn’t move, impatience broke her, and Bulla finally turned to glare at him. “Trunks isn’t home,” she told him.

Goten only rolled his shoulders and leaned forward on the counter with folded arms. “That’s okay.”

“What did you mean?” Bulla crossed her arms, forgetting her work in favor of giving into him a little. When he tilted his head at her innocently, she pursed her lips. “About you being my Valentine.” 

“Well, it’s coming up,” Goten looked at his watch as though to be sure. “I was just thinking about it, is all.”

Bulla was watching him carefully now. She felt like she was stumbling into a trap, somehow. “You’ve never been my Valentine, Goten.”

The younger Son next to her opened his mouth, but her phone went off before he could speak. She excused herself, primly slipping down from her stool and stepping into the adjacent lounge to take the call. 

When she returned a couple of minutes later, Bulla tried to ignore the disappointment at Goten’s sudden disappearance.

The next day, a text from Goten came during the meeting on the new prototype. 

_A waving hand emoji._

Bulla blinked at the symbol rapidly, trying to discern it as though she were studying a complicated riddle. Unsure of his intention behind the single image, Bulla sent back what came naturally. 

**< 3**

Her turn for the presentation started, and she reluctantly abandoned her phone to give the powerpoint as professionally as her boggled mind would allow. The hour seemed to drag, and out of nowhere, she felt an antsy tugging in her chest. When she finally finished to golf claps, Bulla snatched her phone from her purse - but there was nothing in response from him.

Folding her lips to keep them from frowning, Bulla deposited her phone out of sight, and tried to pretend to pay attention to the remainder of the board discussion.

It wasn’t until she was lying in bed that night, ruminating over the mysterious exchange, that a thought occurred to her. Flipping over onto her belly, Bulla grabbed her phone off of her nightstand, and typed out an indignant message.

**_That doesn’t count either._ **

Almost immediately, his response came. 

_Then what does?_

A vice cinched around her heart. 

**_You’ve had Valentines, Goten. Don’t be silly._ **

This time, his response took a few minutes longer.

_Not really._

She licked her lips as an ellipses bubble teased her.

_Just you._

Bulla’s stomach plummeted.

**_What do you mean?_ **

Her fingers were in the middle of asking him to elaborate, when Goten’s message popped up suddenly.

_You said you’re supposed to have Valentines for a long time. I think that’s probably true._

Another message, _But I’m pretty sure that’s only been you._

She bit her lip.

And, like a coward, she dropped her phone back on top of her nightstand and rolled over on her back to stare wide-eyed up at her ceiling, her heart feeling as though it were fit to beat right out of her chest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluff fluff fluff fluff!  
> Hope no one has any cavities....

**< x 3**

She sighs against his bare chest, her eyes shut tightly to keep the early morning glow at bay for a little while longer. 

At 23 years old, Bulla finally has a special person to call her own on Valentine’s Day. It’s never been a priority for her to be with someone on a holiday founded only in consumerism, but the novelty of it isn’t lost on her. Every year since she was a child, Bulla always had one person she held in her heart - usually privately ( _ except that time she was five… _ ) - on the romantic occasion. There was a lot of tension and confusion and pining and uncertainty, but finally she found herself in the exact place she had longed to be for so long.

And, with a snort, she burrows her face closer into the muscled wall embracing her, unbearably happy that it was with  _ him _ .

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” his voice rumbles against her ear, and Bulla blushes at the sleepy sound of it. She feels him press a kiss to the top of her head, and her chest sweetly aches. “...Wait, are we doing that?”

Her right blue eye squints open to peek up at his curious staring. He’s still a little bit dreamy, his dark eyes unfocused but working to get there as he watches for her answer.

“I don’t mind,” she agrees with even interest. All despite the galloping of her heartbeat. “I didn’t know if that was something you were into or not.”

Goten’s laugh is short, and his tired eyes begin to sparkle with a goofy glitter. “Oh, let’s not do  _ that _ again.”

“Wait, what?” Bulla blinks up at him. He does not appear phased in the least by her genuine surprise. “What’s that mean?”

“Last year?” He arches an eyebrow at her. “Don’t act like you don’t know.”

Her mind immediately races through last year’s events, specifically Valentine’s Day. Her heart stutters momentarily as she remembers the texts between them and now surprise morphs to confusion and skepticism, as her brows narrow all too similarly to her father’s usual scowl. 

“Were… you being serious?” Bulla wonders slowly.

His eyes roll emphatically around the ceiling then back down at her, his handsome face still twisted in disbelieving amusement. “Well,  _ duh _ .”

Now her heart is leaping back into overdrive, and Bulla shifts up into a sitting position and tugs the sheet up to her bare chest along with her. Goten seems to catch on now that she is not actually feigning her reaction, and he follows her upright, his back leaning against the headboard as his smile wilts at the corners.

“Is that why you didn’t respond?” Goten realizes after a beat, and his eyebrows fly up toward his spikes. She stares at him dumbfounded, brain processing this revelation. “Why would I say that if I wasn’t serious?”

The defensive streak she inherited from her parents kicks in, and Bulla shoves at his chest with her free hand. “For one, I  _ never _ asked you to be my Valentine before! Why would you say that?!”

He smirks and holds up a wagging finger. “Well, you definitely asked me at  _ least _ one time--”

Bulla slaps his hand from the air in front of her face. “That doesn’t count. I was a child.”

“Okay, then when you were like ten or so,” Goten mutters and shakes his wrist out. “You left me that one Valentine in the kitchen.”

“Excuse me?”

“It was cute,” he says. “Had little flowers on it, but like … not all girly? I remember wondering if your mother picked them out...”

Bulla glowers at him. “I never gave you a Val-- Wait a sec!” She smacks the heel of her hand to her forehead. “Oh my god,  _ you _ took it?!”

Goten leans away from her, unsure. “I didn’t take anything. You left it for me.”

“That one wasn’t for you!” She groans, now completely mortified by a mystery long forgotten now revealed. “That was for some kid I had a crush on in school!”

“...Oh.”

Her memory tries to piece together the meaningful scribbling she had left on that lost scrap of paper, the admission of her feelings at the time laid bare on the pretty Valentine. While she was heartbroken at the time having lost Penn’s card, she’d come to be grateful for that fact later that year when she had to kick his ass in the school yard for some unsavory commentary.

Bulla starts to slink back down in repose on the bed, dread pooling in her belly, as she imagines teen Goten once again being accosted by hechilling . “You.. thought I wrote all that … for you?”

“My bad,” Goten mutters, and she’s not prepared for the clear disappointment wrote across his face then. “I should’ve just asked you.”

“Are you upset that it wasn’t?”

He looks back down at her but glances away almost as quickly. “Ah, nah,” his throat clears around something, and she watches the muscles in his neck move. “It was really nice though, whoever it was for.”

“Oh, hey,” Bulla rolls on to her side and pulls at his arm in a feeble attempt to coax him to join her. “I’m glad it went to you.” Off his side eye, she smirks and tugs harder, and he shifts and relents until he’s propped up on an elbow beside her. “That other guy was an ass. And anyway…”

She trails off, not so confident under his careful eye. But his fingers brush her forearm gently, and Bulla smiles. “Anyway. All that stuff I wrote… it may as well have been about you.”

“Yeah?” He practically beams with pride and Bulla rolls her eyes. 

“I’ve never actually had a Valentine, yknow,” Goten whispers and Bulla looks askance at him. “It was never something that interested me.” He glances down at her and his mouth quirks up crookedly. “Except with you.”

Warmth blossoms in her chest and Bulla wraps her arms around his neck for leverage. She hoists herself up into his lap, his wide hands framing her hips to hold her steady, and she slides her hands along his shoulders. 

“I always thought your little cards when you were a kid were sweet,” Goten admits as he stares up at her, and she begins to feel her chest turn red under the flattery. “Trunks tried to tease me about it before, but I just told him he was jealous that he didn’t have his own fan club.”

“Oh, stop it,” Bulla snorts and shoves at his strong jaw. “You’re so full of yourself.”

He grins and grasps her around the forearm, bringing her tiny wrist to his lips for a small peck. “Maybe. But you still like me,” he murmurs against her skin. “Right?”

She smirks at the hopeful, boyish look he gives her - all that confidence from before gone for a split second as he wonders over her feelings. Bulla lifts the hand in his grasp up to ruffle his angled spikes before dipping down to kiss his cheek. 

“Yeah, I do,” Bulla agrees, nose to nose with him.

His megawatt smile lights up the room brighter than the invading dawn, and Goten flips them suddenly so he’s hovering above her. The cream bed sheet flutters around them, catching on the black tufts of his hair, cocooning the two of them together.

“Does that mean you’ll be my Valentine?” Goten poses the question, no flirtation, no quips. His sincerity makes her heart rabbit in her chest.

“If you’re asking me, then yes,” Bulla nods, blushing.

His smile broadens and he bends down to capture her lips in a kiss so tender it brings tears to her eyes. When Goten draws back to peer down at her reverently, Bulla’s almost positive his onyx eyes are glistening. 

She’d always wanted Goten to be her Valentine, for as long as she could remember. And now here, tucked under his bed sheets, blanketed by the warmth of him and their love, he asks  _ her _ to be  _ his. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!
> 
> I thought about doing more than just this, but honestly it felt like disingenuous filler. I don't like to ramble too much in my stories. I know as a reader, I prefer the meat and potatoes of a fic - and I hope my readers feel the same. So hopefully this ooey gooey fluff was a good follow up for yall, because I love it. I don't get to see them too schmoopy that often, so much angst and pining with this couple! So it was nice to write something with them settled and happy.
> 
> Thank you everyone who reads and reviews! You guys are awesome!

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry! There'll be a happy resolve in the next chapter! :)


End file.
